St. Landry democrat., 1887-06-18
HOWARD'S LETTER.
STRAY NOTES AND TALKS DURIN
WALKS ABOUT NEW YORK.

Peculiarities of the C1imate-A a witt
a Street Car Conductor-Fine Mansion
with Rock Shanties for Neighbors-Di
PARTIES That Breed Social Disease.
New York is a very peculiar place
Its winters. as a rule, are dry, its springs
are late, it's summers dilatory, its VI
tumns superb. There are weeks con
secutive in New York when no we'll
conditioned man need care to wear an
overcoat in the daytime, and there are
but few days in the spring when a top
coat is not an absolute essential to com
fort and health. We are apt to have in
the early days of June a week or so of
intensely hot weather, after which the
chilliness of spring dominates the at
mosphere, and thick fannels and warm
o%vercoats are gladly resumed.
Then come the "dog-days," the sultri-
ness of the latter part of July and August,
leading up through all the gayeties of
Coney Island, Long Beach and Long
Branch to the chilly September storm,
which, sending everyone scattering from
his summer resort, terminates in a
fortnight of heat so oppressive that land
lords swear and city men wonder why it
is that they did not remember this annual
occurrence of "dog-days" after the 18th of
September.
From the 1st of October until the Goth
of November we have here what | call
New York weather." dry, crisp, clear,
and invigorating in the morning, rather
warmish from twelve to three, from which
time on to twelve or one at night the
seductions of the street, the absolute en-
joyments of the park, and the eXhilara-
tons of the drives place New York as
far ahead of any spot or climate on the
American continent as alpha is ahead of
omega.
That is what l call the glories of New
York weather.
What a queer people we are, dividing
more and more each year into the rich
and the poor, the former growing richer
the latter poorer!
Grumblings, discomfort, mutterings but
little suppressed fill the air.
Rich vulgarity, with its snowy equip
age, four-in-hand, with speeders worth
from $4,000 to $4,000 each, seems to
gloat in is moneyed superiority, while
the fustian jacket and the corduroy
trousers and the hob-nailed shoes tramp
steadily along tie line which, in my judg-
ment, leads sooner or later to a revolution
and monarchy. And the question of to-
day is: care they to be tolerated."
On my way home last night | rode in a
car which left the Astor House at a mo
ment or two past twelve.
Riding through a dark street up town,
the sole occupant of the car, and noticing
the extreme WEAKNESS of the conductor
who was standing by the door, l said to
him:
"Why don't you sit dow n" to which
he replied:
"Who the devil are you? l don't
know but you are a spotter."
"Spotter?'
eyes, a spotter."
"Well," said l, II don't care whether
you stand or sit. I thought you looked
tired, and would enjoy a few moments
rest"
Relaxing a little from his cold grim
ness, the conductor said:
$50 l would; but nine to one, if I were
to sit in this car for the next three
blocks, 1 would be reported by ONE
body, and my place would be vacant in
the morning"
"How long have you been at work
to-day"
From half-past FIVE"
"Not half-past five in the mornings"
Eyes, half-past five in the morning,
and that means that l left my home at
five minutes to five, took my car from
the depot at fve-thirty, will finish this
trip at ten minutes after one, get back to
the depot at half-past one, and be home
about two o'clock
"Well, how long do you intend to
stand this ?"
GIVE got to stand it; but the time will
come when neither I nor anybody else
will stand it."
Other conversation followed, the tenor
of which convinced me that this intelli-
gent, over-worked, abused and outraged
fellow-creature had the material, mental,
moral and physical, necessary for the
conversation of an honest, well-meaning
man into a Jealous, vindictive, much-to-
be-dreaded revolutionist. Unless you
are familiar with the latter-day guise of
New York streets you can have no pos
sible conception of the mighty growth of
the wealth of the metropolis; and, unless
you have that most rare quality Of
thoughtfulness and commiseration for
The so-called Clover classes" their con-
dition and their prospects, you can have
no possible adequate conception of the
condition of perjury, of destitu-
lion and of squalor in which so many
thousands of New York's citizens are
Broadway from the Battery to Grace